This holiday season, we invite you to think local first. By shopping locally for holiday gifts, we all have an opportunity to support our fellow Livingston business owners and community members. As most of us have experienced firsthand, Livingston has a wide variety of locally owned shops and community oriented organizations offering one-of-a-kind items, hand-crafted art and unique services — all sure to please even Santa’s elves.

So a giant truck stop company has its eyes on the east entrance to town.

Should we welcome it? In simple economic terms, that would be like allowing another player to stand permanently next to the net or the goalpost while the rest of us feed passes to him and let him run up the score for himself. I think it’s a bad idea.

In response to the editorial “Upset with the Shopping Spree at Bozeman Wal-Mart” I want the writer as well as the community to know how Park County Rural Fire Department, District 1, along with the Firefighters Association, both support our local businesses and why the Firefighters Association needed to purchase toys outside of Livingston for Santa on the Fire Truck.

Regarding the proposed truck stop: The Livingston City Commission has the option of setting the precedent here. Instead of saying they don’t have a precedent to follow, they can be brave and set the precedent. They have the option of saying our community is unique, and we want to keep it that way.

In response to the letter to the editor on 12/9/2014 from Denise Boggs, I feel the “need to speak.”

I retired from the Livingston Police Department on Aug. 3, 2002. I worked with several of the officers who are currently employed by the Livingston Police Department and the Park County Sheriff’s Office. They are all very professional, well-trained and dedicated men and women.